Patsy Cline Duets - Press Release

SWEET DREAMS COME TRUE FOR CRYSTAL GAYLE

Ever wonder who is an idol’s idol? For country music legend Crystal Gayle, no one comes close to the sweet-n-sassy Patsy Cline, whose untimely death in 1963 left a void in the hearts of country and mainstream fans everywhere. "When I was a little girl, I used to sing along with Patsy Cline records. I had a reel-to-reel tape recorder and made recordings of myself singing with her," recalls Gayle.

Looks like the grown-up songstress will at last have her girlhood dream come true: this week (September 14^th) will see the release of PATSY CLINE DUETS -- Volume 1 on Private I/Mercury Records. Through modern technology, Cline’s classic vocals have been paired with Gayle’s on "I Can’t Forget You," along with a host of other legendary as well as newer artists including Michelle Wright, Waylon Jennings, Beth Nielson Chapman, Bob Carlisle, Mila Mason, John Berry, Glen Campbell and Willie Nelson, who penned one of Cline’s most beloved ballads, "Crazy." PATSY CLINE DUETS, produced by veteran Michael Blakey, includes an interactive CD-ROM featuring rare photographs, lyrics, Patsy fan club information and video footage of the new recording sessions.

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PREMIER SINGLE FROM PATSY CLINE "DUETS" CD

The first single from the highly anticipated Patsy Cline Duets CD will be "That Wonderful Someone" her duet with Bob Carlisle according to Private I/Mercury Records.

The CD, set for release on September 14, pairs the late Country Music icon with Willie Nelson, Glen Campbell, Waylon Jennings Crystal Gayle, Michelle Wright, Beth Neilson Chapman, John Berry and Mila Mason.

Carlisle, who achieved double platinum status with his CD Butterfly Kisses, as well as Michael Blakey, the producer who used the latest forensic technology to create this wonderful addition to the Patsy Cline legacy, are available for interviews.

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 The line-up for the much anticipated Patsy Cline Duets (Private I / Mercury Records) has been announced today.

The eleven cuts featured on the CD were produced by veteran record producer, Michael Blakey, who utilized forensic science to extract Cline’s vocals from existing mono tracks and turned them into pristine sounding recordings with the addition of new orchestration and the voices of some of country’s most cherished artists.

The September 14^th release of the first of three planned volumes of Patsy Cline Duets pairs soulful songstress Cline with a panel of country music artists who are legends in their own right … and they are:

11. "How Can I Face Tomorrow"       Patsy Cline

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 SWEET DREAM COMES TO LIFE WITH RELEASE OF

In the history of country music, Patsy Cline is more than revered; she is, to many, a member of that rarefied cadre of legendary artists who occupies sacred ground. So versatile was this beloved, soulful songstress, her appeal spilled over into the mainstream, transforming her into a pop icon as well. Her tragic demise in1963 at the age of 31 only intensified popular devotion to the singer, who, had she lived, would have become an enduring superstar.

More than three decades after her death, evidence of her legacy for contemporary artists is abundant, and many tout Cline as one of the central influences on their style and phrasing. Indeed, some of country’s greatest stars admit to being Patsy Cline fanatics, citing the terrible void that she left in the music world. Still, human nature is a curious thing: when we lose something rare or precious, we often attempt through innovation to recreate that which we have lost, whether it be youth, health, riches or love.

Recent years have witnessed this desire to revive the extraordinary voices of those such as Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra, weaving contemporary voices into their classic recordings. Such projects transcend mere nostalgia, allowing us to enter a realm where the world of the dream becomes real. This Fall, with the release of the Patsy Cline Duets, fresh territory of that dream-like world will be revealed.

On September 14, the first of three planned volumes of Patsy Cline duets will be issued, pairing Cline with some of country’s most cherished artists, who are legends in their own right: Willie Nelson, Glenn Campbell, Waylon Jennings, Crystal Gayle, Michelle Wright, Beth Neilson Chapman, Bob Carlisle, John Berry and Mila Mason.

Selecting the artists for the individual duets was hardly simple, although certain parameters guided the producer. For one thing, as the original key and integrity of the music had not been touched, the performers had to sing with ease in the keys that fall within Cline’s key spectrum. Yet perhaps more importantly, the artists should be appropriate for the individual melodies. Certain singers came easily to mind for obvious reasons: Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings were both contemporaries of Cline, not to mention that Nelson had penned the phenomenal Cline classic, "Crazy," and was a close friend of hers.

Crystal Gayle and Glenn Campbell, having emerged onto the scene later than Cline, both revere Cline as a trailblazer and consider themselves ardent fans, as do the other artists in the duets collection. Veteran record producer, Michael Blakey consciously selected a mixture of legendary and newer talent for the line-up, including double platinum-recording artist Michelle Wright and Gospel artist Bob Carlisle, whose 1997 recording "Butterfly Kisses" earned him not only a Grammy but the VH1 Artist of the Year award as well.

Blakey explains that he approached the project with a mixture of reverence and apprehension. "I realized that in creating a new collection of Patsy Cline, I was heading into sacred ground," he recalls. However, after meeting with Charlie Dick, Cline’s husband, and receiving his support, Blakey proceeded with confidence.

Then began the arduous task of first extracting Cline’s vocals from the mono tracks. This being nearly impossible, Blakey enlisted the help of a forensic scientist, who was successful in removing the original vocals. The tracks were then painstakingly re-created note-for-note in three-second increments.

Although the integrity of the original music was preserved absolutely, Blakey opted to enhance the tracks by adding in orchestration. World-class session players were flown in from around the globe to add the horns, harps and strings that would augment and enrich the original recording. Cline’s’s vocals were put through state-of-the-art technology rendering them crystal clean, utterly devoid of distortion or hiss – as though they were recorded yesterday.

When the recording was played for Charlie Dick back in Nashville, Blakey recalls, he sensed the experience had a chilling effect on Cline’s husband. "You see," explained Dick, "Patsy only sounded like that when she stood singing in front of me." The project received the full endorsement of both Charlie Dick and Cline’s children, as well as that of Sony/ATV Nashville president Donna Hilly, who’s not even affiliated with the project, says, "Every music lover, regardless of their taste in music, should have this record."

Between the labor-intensive re-recording of the musical tracks and the vocal recording of the duets, Volume One of The Patsy Cline Duets took over one-and-a-half years to complete. The artists who contributed to the duet were unanimous in their praise for the pristine quality of the recording, with Mila Mason referring to Blakey as the "George Lucas of the Recording Industry."

The CD of Volume One of The Patsy Cline Duets will be available September 14 from Private I/Mercury Records and will be a fully interactive CD Rom, featuring bios and photos of Cline and the other artists, as well as links to the Patsy Cline Duets website.